Ask The Pros Q. and A.
Rods
Q. I have a 7’ medium action Fenwick HMG spinning rod. I'm wondering if it has enough
backbone to throw tex-rigged tubes and provide good hooksets? Also, I have a 6’6” Diawa bait
casting rod, medium action. Will it work with a topwater sammy?
J. Smith
A. Your spinning rod will certainly work for T-riging Tubes—the question is will it have enough backbone to get a quality fish out of heavy cover? That all depends on the cover and how you handle it.
Personally, I’d want a Medium-heavy, like a Falcon 5 or 6 action. That said, you can help your hooksets by going to a braided line line, like Power Pro, or a quality Flourocarbon, like TripleFish or Sugoi. Also, use a super sharp hook (I like Gamakatsu EWG Superline in 3/0), and texpose the point.
The Diawa rod you have will work fine with a Sammy 85 or 100. Be sure to put a split ring in the nose
eye—this will help the lure “walk” much better. Good luck!
Mike Whitten
Southern Pro